2018 FIVB MEN’S VOLLEYBALL NATIONS LEAGUE – WEEK 4/POOL 13
- June 15th-June 17th, 2018
- Seoul, Korea | Jangchung Arena (Capacity: 4,507)
- Time Zone: Korea Standard Time (UTC +9)
- World Rankings: #4 Italy, #16 Australia, #20 China, #21 South Korea
- Preview
- Schedule/Results
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Jun | 16:00 | China  |
1–3 |  Italy |
23–25 | 21–25 | 25–19 | 17–25 | 86–94 | P2 Report | |
| 15 Jun | 19:00 | South Korea  |
1–3 |  Australia |
25–23 | 19–25 | 19–25 | 21–25 | 84–98 | P2 Report | |
| 16 Jun | 14:00 | South Korea |
2–3 | Italy |
23–25 | 19–25 | 25–22 | 25–22 | 12–15 | 104–109 | P2 Report |
| 16 Jun | 17:00 | Australia |
3–1 | China |
25–27 | 41–39 | 29–27 | 25–21 | 120–114 | P2 Report | |
| 17 Jun | 14:00 | South Korea |
3–0 | China |
25–21 | 25–21 | 25–22 | 75–64 | |||
| 17 Jun | 17:00 | Italy |
1–3 | Australia |
25–27 | 25–18 | 19–25 | 23-25 | 92–68 |
Korea def. China 3-0
- Korea defeated China 25-21, 25-21, 25-22
- Korea moved to 1-11 (5 points); China moved to 2-12 (6 points)
Even with Chuan Jing back in the lineup and scoring 17 points, China was no match for South Korea on Sunday as the Koreans earned their first VNL win with a home sweep.
Sung-Min Moon and Jiseok Jung both outscored Jing, racking up 20 and 18 points respectively for South Korea. Moon turned in 18 kills and two blocks, while Jung added 15 putaways and three blocks. Myung-Geun Song also reached double digits with 11 points on seven kills, a team-best three aces and a block. Jae-Hwi Kim was a force at the net with a match-high four blocks, half of his eight point tally. Taekeui Hwang chimed in with three aces.
Jiang notched 16 kills and a block for China, but the next highest scorers were Longhai Chen and Shuhan Rao with six points apiece. Chen tacked on five kills and a block, while Rao put up three blocks and added three putaways. Jingyin Zhang downed five kills in the first two sets before exiting the match, while Libin Liu added four kills and a block. Eleven players saw the court for China, with three new starters coming in for Set 3.
Korea outdid China in kills (47-38), blocks (11-8) and aces (6-0) to overcome 18 miscues in the match. China limited its errors to 11.
Here are few post-match reactions.
Korea captain Moon Sungmin: “It was our last match in Korea and every player is eager to get the first victory. Everyone played with one mind to get a good result. Some players are not in good physical condition but I thank them for playing hard.”
China coach Raul Lozano: “Congratulations to Team Korea and coach Kim Hochul. Korea did well on service and we did not do well on service reception. That was the difference. We were nervous, our attack and attitude were not in good condition.”
China captain Ji Daoshuai: “We did well at first. However, when there is a close game, we couldn’t overcome the pressure. Korea won because they overcame the pressure and we had younger player. Korea had a better game today.”
Australia def. Italy 3-1
- Australia defeated Italy 27-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-23
- Australia moved to 5-7 (15 points); Italy moved to 7-5 (21 points)
In a tight match, it was a handful of Italian errors that spelled the difference in a 3-1 Australian victory.
Italy committed 35 errors in the match, while the Aussies made 29. That six point cushion came in handy as both teams managed 49 kills and the Italians edged Australia in blocks (10-8) and aces (4-2).
After a few matches in the background with limited action, Thomas Hodges reclaimed his place in the spotlight for Australia with a match-high 20 points on 17 kills, two blocks and an ace. Luke Smith (13), Paul Sanderson (9), Nehemiah Mote (9) and Trent O’Dea (7) rounded out the scoring for the Aussies. Smith chalked up 12 kills and an ace, while Sanderson chipped in eight kills and a block. O’Dea put up a team-leading three blocks and four putaways, while Mote added two stuffs and seven kills. Paul Carroll appeared briefly in Set 3, but did not record a statistic.
Gabriele Maruotti led a group of three Italian players with double-digit point tallies. Maruotti turned in 16 points on 14 kills, a block and an ace. Simone Anzani and Gabriele Nelli added 13 points apiece. Nelli notched 12 kills and an ace, while Anzani grabbed six kills and a match-high six blocks. Daniele Mazzone tacked on five kills, two blocks and an ace, while Luigi Randazzo downed seven kills. Eight of the 12 players who saw the court scored. Filippo Lanza did not play.
Here are some post-match reactions.
Australia coach Mark Lebedew: “I’m very pleased with our victory today. It was an important match because we changed our composition of players today. It was a good opportunity for them. We have kept the same mentality in all three matches in Seoul. It was a good experience for the team.”
Australia captain Paul Carroll: “I think we showed that our six players played on the same level as Italy. Italy missed a lot and at some point, their setter lost his cool and they became more emotional. It was a great victory. We will continue giving the same performance next week in Melbourne.”
Italy captain Filippo Lanza: “We had the wrong strategy for this match. We couldn’t do our counter-attack. Now we will take a rest and prepare for the three matches next week.”
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